Jun 18, 2013

Humble is back with another bundle featuring a variety of Android games, with the Humble Bundle with Android 6.

This is actually the 7th mainline bundle to feature Android games, though like the other “for/with Android” bundles, this features PC, Mac, and Linux versions of the games along with the Android versions. There’s a variety of previously-released games along with some titles making their Android debuts.

Aquaria: This open-world undersea adventure game is making its Android debut. Players control the mermaid Naija as she tries to recover her memory. This one is on Android after a long while: the original game released on PC in 2007, winning the Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival, and after an iPad release in 2011.

Fractal: Cipher Prime’s puzzle game makes its Android debut as well. This music-based game has players making chains and working with pieces while the music beats away at 130 BPM. Cipher Prime is responsible as well for Auditorium and Pulse, the latter of which is also part of this bundle as an Android exclusive.

Frozen Synapse: The previous two games are making their Android debuts, this is actually making its pre-release debut. The turn-based strategy game features a unique movement and action assignment system that makes it easy to assign one’s squad accurate actions. All this comes in a unique visual style. The game is in a ‘late beta’ state that may not work perfectly on all devices until it’s finished. Frozen Synapse is optimized for tablets.

Organ Trail: Director’s Cut: Die of dysentery or having your brains munched on by the living dead in this take on zombie-filled take on Oregon Trail by Chicago-based The Men Who Wear Many Hats.

Stealth Bastard Deluxe: This 2D stealth game, making its Android debut, has players trying to sneak through 80 levels of traps dessigned to catch players. Become the unseen!

Broken Sword: Director’s Cut: This classic point-and-click adventure game makes its way to Android, expanding on the acclaimed gameplay of the original.

The bundle includes DRM-free downloads of all the games for PC, Mac, Linux, and Android. As well, the soundtracks are included for all the games! The bundle is available through July 1st.

Jun 18, 2013

PicAround is an event camera app that connects the images from all your friends and shares them into a single folder. It’s a simple way to see the images that others take at an event without having to track them down and view it from their camera. All photos get shared in one photo album, instantly.

Jun 18, 2013

In case you haven’t noticed, the kitty saving and flame evading game, Jones on Fire, now has a free version for you to play. While href=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gbg.jonesonfirepromo” target=”_blank”>Jones on Fire Free features ads, you can still enjoy 10 levels of side-scrolling gameplay while running and jumping to save the kitties! Check it out and save some kitties!

Jun 17, 2013

Jongla, a free messaging service for mobile devices, is trying to make mobile messaging more cross-platform and more dynamic with more media options. The app, recently updated on Android, allows for users who register with their phone (sorry tablet users, the app isn’t supported yet) to send messages to other users of Jongla, be they on iOS, the upcoming Windows Phone version, or most interestingly, on the web. Jongla features an HTML5 client that lets its users read and send their messages from any web browser. Take that, iMessage!

Jongla’s newest feature is the ability to easily share YouTube videos from within the app. Tapping the + icon to share media now features a YouTube option. This pulls up a mobile web view for YouTube’s site, which then makes it easy to search for videos, or to check out the top videos featured on YouTube’s front page. Then, tap the send arrow, and a link to the video will be added to the message to be sent to your contact. Simple as that.

Jongla is available for free from Google Play.

Jun 17, 2013

Last week at WWDC, Apple made their big reveal of iOS 7, the massive visual overhaul spearheaded by Jony Ive. Most notably, the OS has been flattened like a steamroller. There’s definitely still some three-dimensional elements and hints of skeuomorphism, but this is a fresh new coat of paint for the OS. But really, in comparison to Android, that’s largely all it is: a new coat of paint. The core product underneath is still the same, and still lacking in certain areas.

It’s easy to accuse Apple on a macro level of stealing ‘flat’ design from Android and Windows Phone 8, both of which used this kind of design first, and it’s right in a certain sense. Apple is playing follower here. But then again they weren’t the first with a touchscreen phone, either.

However, much like how Android and WP8 don’t really look alike, iOS still has its own individual look. It’s basically a more abstract version of iOS, with no more buttons. There’s lots of color gradients too. Looking at the OS, it still looks different. There are natural similarities, but many things that separate all three OSes still.

In fact, really, iOS 7 is so familiar because all that really appears to have changed is the look of it. It’s largely a fresh coat of paint, the structure is still largely the same. The most drastic change was gutting of Game Center into something way different. But the massive feature overhaul that iOS 7 could really use at this point just isn’t there.

Customization is still largely left to just wallpapers. All apps still clutter the homescreen, and default apps can’t be hidden away from view, like how Android allows for users to choose what they want on homescreens. Widgets are still not an option, though I personally am not the biggest proponent of them. Most of the changes are minor feature tweaks. It’s still largely the same OS that it was back in 2007. Sure, it’s a lot better now with the added features, and I still overall like my iPhone (reviewing a lot of iOS games will make you go down crazy paths like that) but it just still doesn’t feel like the ideal mobile OS experience.

Google has been far less conservative, having overhauled Android not just visually but also making major feature changes with Ice Cream Sandwich and later Jelly Bean. The spirit of the OS has remained the same, but stock Android proves that there doesn’t have to be a compromise between design and functionality. And I believe that more changes will be on the way with the next big Android update.

Microsoft can’t be accused of resting on their laurels with Windows Phone, either. These operating systems just feel more…modern. iOS looks more modern, but at the end of the day, it’s still a closed and cluttered OS. There are advantages to Apple’s approach, but their strength remains as much the developer community around iOS as much as the OS itself. A new coat of paint can’t really change that.

Jun 13, 2013

The Humble Bundle folks are continuing to branch out into Android distribution with the latest Weekly Sale featuring the Anomaly series. 11 bit studios has a pay-what-you-want sale for one week that for Android gamers includes Anomaly Warzone Earth, the sequel Anomaly Korea, and two of 11 bit’s other titles: Sleepwalker’s Journey and Funky Smugglers. The APKs are all available as direct download from the website or by installing their app. The games are DRM free for Android, and include PC versions as well.

This is interesting in two facets: one, this is maybe the highest-profile Android-facing side of a weekly sale from Humble yet. They’re definitely making a push into being a distribution platform with more sales, more bundles, and even individual games that sell using their platform. While Android is seemingly a smaller part of this at the moment, it’s still something that’s being included. The previous Serious Sam sale included the Android version of Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack, but this is comprehensively Android-supported. This is with the exception of the original Anomaly: Warzone Earth, where the mobile campaign is different enough that 11 bit has decided to include it in the bundle for the PC versions. Mobile content moving to PC…quite backwards!

The sale runs until 2pm EDT on June 20th.

Jun 13, 2013

HeroCraft Mobile has announced a free version of the real-time strategy game, Ant Raid, which provides two episodes of ants and monsters for players to enjoy. Ant Raid is a funny story about a colony of ants who are trying to survive against mindless monsters. Now go help them survive in the first two episodes!

Jun 13, 2013

Bloglovin’, an RSS reader with around a 90% female userbase, is taking the route of fashion, lifestyle, and home decor. The app lets you follow blogs so that you can easily find them all in one place. There is also a popular section in the app that lets you view the most read articles from the day. Check it out and discover why this is the number one blog reader for fashion and lifestyle.

Jun 13, 2013

At E3, an upcoming console has announced that it is undercutting the price of its chief competitor in the market by 20%.

I’m referring of course to GameStick’s recent announcement that it will launch at $79 versus the $99 price point of the Ouya. While the latter has generated a lot of headlines over the past year thanks to its Kickstarter and to its many antics, including recent shenanigans with the ESA at E3, PlayJam’s GameStick also exists as a viable product in the Android console space.

The GameStick will be launching in July, and there’s some interesting tidbits from the video Jon Jordan of Pocket Gamer (full disclosure: Pocket Gamer is owned by our parent company Steel Media) has recorded from the E3 show floor.

- The controller is a standard HID controller, not running through a sepcial API like the Ouya controller. This means that HID gamepads like the Nyko PlayPad, MOGA Pro, and Green Throttle even will work.
- Amazon and GameStop will carry the GameStick in the US, the latter being especially important as this means that it will be available at retail.

Check out the video below and keep an eye here for more on GameStick and the burgeoning Android console space.

Jun 13, 2013

USA Today reports that Marvel: Avengers Alliance, the popular Facebook game, will be on its way to Android in the near future, with an iOS version releasing this week. Gamers will play the role of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the turn-based game that features 40 Marvel heroes and 60 missions. There will also be additional missions and characters available through in-app purchase.

Jun 13, 2013

King, the mobile gaming behemoth behind the ultra-popular Candy Crush Saga that has replaced FarmVille as the go-to reference for an “uber-popular game that everyone and their mother is playing,” is launching their latest mobile game, Pet Rescue Saga, which is available today on Google Play.

Much like their other titles, this is a block-destroying puzzle game. Players must tap on blocks to destroy multiples of the same color, though single blocks can’t be destroyed. Eliminating a column will shift all blocks to the left. This shifting becomes important, because certain obstructions on the playing field will seaparte some blocks from others. Thus, getting some blocks to a point where in order to get them touching other blocks and to actually remove them, a column must be removed. The game is set up to where if a match can’t be made, then the top block gets removed automatically and the next row fills up.

This seems helpful, right? Well, yes and no. Well, the key to success in many levels is to destroy a certain percentage of blocks. So ones that get eliminated automatically become a real problem. Of course, performing well means that three stars can be attained. Some levels feature pets that must reach the bottom in order to complete objectives as well.

Along the way, players can use powerups that can be bought in order to make progressing and succeeding much easier. There’s pickaxes for eliminating single blocks. A color pop can eliminate all blocks of a single color. There’s one powerup that has to be earned and charged up while playing, a rocket that goes up and clears a single line entirely.

Of course, it’s possible to connect to Facebook to compete for high scores and to get friends to gift extra lives to keep a game going. Who wants to wait? Waiting is for suckers. That’s at least what King hopes. All the elements that make their games so popular and addictive – the social elements, 72 challenging levels, and of course the gameplay that’s “simple to learn but difficult to master” as the old adage goes. Those who have started playing the game on Facebook can login with the same account and continue their game on the go, or vice versa.

Android gamers will get to play Pet Rescue Saga starting today, with the game available on Google Play.

Jun 12, 2013

Green Throttle Games and SEGA have announced that they will bring two Sonic the Hedgehog games to the Green Throttle Arena with full Atlas Controller compatibility. An update is on its way that will provide Green Throttle support to the Android versions of Sonic 4: Episode I and II.

“The opportunities in mobile gaming today are extremely exciting, and partnering with Green Throttle to bring a console-like experience to our mobile games is one example of what’s possible with the processing power of new devices,” said David Zemke, Director of Mobile Business Development for Sega of America. “There is great value in Green Throttle’s Arena app and it was a simple integration to add support for the Atlas controller to our games, giving fans a new way to play. We hope to bring even more games to the Arena in the coming months.”